Surging prospect Aaron Pico came into his main card bout against veteran Leandro Higo at tonight’s (Sat., September 29, 2018) Bellator 206 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California, with a monstrous (and justified) hype train following him. And he just added more fuel to its raging fire with a first-round stoppage of Higo. Pico […]
Surging prospect Aaron Pico came into his main card bout against veteran Leandro Higo at tonight’s (Sat., September 29, 2018) Bellator 206 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California, with a monstrous (and justified) hype train following him.
Pico used an aggressive, stalking style of striking from the fight’s outset, stalking Higo towards the cage and unloading endless power shots. Higo was a game competitor, however. He landed some solid knees, a stinging two-punch combo, and some thudding low kicks of his own.
Pico’s demolishing offense was just too much for him in the end. He walked Higo down with huge shots to the body and head, rocking him badly. Pico poured on the punches and Higo was on the brink. Perhaps he was even too tough for his own good, as the referee inexplicably let him stay in the fight and absorb a ton of shots.
Finally the fight was stopped several seconds after it should have been, giving Pico his third first-round knockout victory of 2018. Watch the highlights via ESPN’s Maximiliano Bretos here:
The stage is set for tomorrow’s (Sat., September 29, 2018) packed Bellator 206 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. All that’s left is the Bellator 206 ceremonial weigh-ins. In the main event, middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi will take on welterweight champion Rory MacDonald for the 185-pound title. In the co-main event, longtime rivals […]
The stage is set for tomorrow’s (Sat., September 29, 2018) packed Bellator 206 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. All that’s left is the Bellator 206 ceremonial weigh-ins.
In the main event, middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi will take on welterweight champion Rory MacDonald for the 185-pound title. In the co-main event, longtime rivals Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Wanderlei Silva will meet for the fourth time.
Not to be outdone, the main card also features the opening round of the anticipated Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix. Rapidly rising prospect Aaron Pico will also compete in his next fight against veteran Leandro Higo. Check out our full previews, predictions, and analysis for the main bouts here.
Bellator is back with perhaps their best card ever on paper with tomorrow night’s (Sat., September 29, 2018) Bellator 206 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The main card will stream live on new Bellator partner DAZN. The card’s headlining bout features a highly anticipated middleweight super fight between 185-pound Gegard Mousasi and welterweight […]
Bellator is back with perhaps their best card ever on paper with tomorrow night’s (Sat., September 29, 2018) Bellator 206 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California.
The main card will stream live on new Bellator partner DAZN. The card’s headlining bout features a highly anticipated middleweight super fight between 185-pound Gegard Mousasi and welterweight champion Rory MacDonald. In the co-main event, former PRIDE rivals Rampage Jackson and Wanderlei Silva will meet for an incredible fourth time.
The Bellator World Welterweight Grand Prix will also kick off at the event. Former champions Douglas Lima and Andrey Koreshkov will square off in the inaugural bout of the buzzworthy tournament. Touted rising star Aaron Pico also has next fight on the main card, facing Leandro Higo on his continued rise.
All of that adds up to an incredibly packed Bellator 206 main card. We broke down the important aspects of each major bout. Check out our Bellator 206 preview, predictions, and analysis here.
Gegard Mousasi vs. Rory MacDonald
Hyperbole aside, this is probably the biggest fight Bellator could put on right now due to the track record of both fighters.
Mousasi has won seven straight bouts since his fluky TKO loss to Uriah Hall in September 2015. He’s finished five of those opponents by knockout and may be at his peak as a result. Mousasi did have some trouble in his Bellator debut against Alexander Shlemenko. He most recently destroyed former champion Rafael Carvalho in one round at May’s Bellator 200.
Likewise, MacDonald has been on a tear since coming to Bellator, albeit a smaller one. He’s won both of his fights against Paul Daley and Lima, winning the belt from the latter at Bellator 192 this January.
Both of these fighters bring a wealth of relevant in-cage knowledge and experience, a wholly well-rounded skillset, and the experience to back it up. Therefore, this is truly as elite a fight Bellator could make. In honesty, Mousasi and MacDonald are somewhat similar in style. They both employ crisp, accurate, and measured striking on the feet, choosing to pick their spots with peerless efficiency. Mousasi has shown much more knockout power on the feet, however, and does hold a size edge here.
Both can also finish the fight when it hits the ground. While neither is known as a world-class wrestler, both can take nearly any opponent down and defend opposing takedowns sufficiently. If and when the bout hits the ground, both fighters can absolutely finish the fight with an extensive list of submissions. Mousasi is a black belt in judo and MacDonald is in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
That all boils down to an incredibly close fight on paper. When that happens, the size advantage may play the biggest deciding factor. As you can see from above, Mousasi is the bigger fighter. It’ll be close, but I think he outlasts MacDonald by decision in a back-and-forth battle.
Prediction: Gegard Mousasi def. Rory MacDonald via unanimous decision
This weekend’s (Sat., September 29, 2018) Bellator 206 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California, features the opening round of the 170-pound Bellator Grand Prix. Some big stakes have reportedly just been attached to it. The tournament already features decorated welterweights like champion Rory MacDonald, Jon Fitch, Douglas Lima, Andrey Koreshkov, Paul Daley, Michael Page, Neiman […]
This weekend’s (Sat., September 29, 2018) Bellator 206 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California, features the opening round of the 170-pound Bellator Grand Prix.
Some big stakes have reportedly just been attached to it.
The tournament already features decorated welterweights like champion Rory MacDonald, Jon Fitch, Douglas Lima, Andrey Koreshkov, Paul Daley, Michael Page, Neiman Gracie. It now features a famous name from a different sort of entertainment.
Partnership Of a New Kind
Bellator revealed in a press release today that they had partnered with rapper 50 Cent. They duo will promote his “Get the Strap” clothing line and Le Chemin du Roi champagne brand. 50 Cent has apparently decided to be generous with the money he’ll make from the partnership. The press release said he would donate $1 million to the winner of the Welterweight World Grand Prix:
“A passionate and knowledgeable MMA fan, Jackson has already agreed to re-invest a portion of his deal by offering one million dollars in cash to the winner of the upcoming Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix that will air exclusively on DAZN.”
Bellator President Scott Coker gave his thoughts on the upcoming promotional partnership:
“We are thrilled to partner with such a legendary icon who has been a friend to the Bellator family for quite some time. The “Get The Strap” apparel line is just the beginning of many joint ventures we will explore together.”
Managing Fighters?
As the release closed, 50 Cent teased some other ventures in MMA. He said he was going to branch out into managing fighters:
“Bellator has a roster filled with some of the most charismatic athletes in the world. As my relationship with Bellator deepens, you will see me moving into fighter management opportunities that will allow me to integrate top stars into both scripted and unscripted projects across the Viacom networks, as well as the other outlets I have access to.”
Time will tell what that means for Bellator.
Welterweight champion MacDonald will meet middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi this weekend. He’ll then move on to meet Fitch in the Grand Prix. Meanwhile, ‘Rampage’ Jackson will take on Wanderlei a fourth time.
Finally, former champ Douglas Lima will rematch Andrey Koreshkov to kick off the Grand Prix at Bellator 206.
It’s been less than two months since UFC legend Vitor Belfort retired following his brutal knockout loss to fellow Brazilian Lyoto Machida at May’s UFC 224 from Rio de Janeiro, but it looks like ‘The Phenom’ is already itching to fight.
After he made a post on social media where it looked like he was well on his way back to his ripped TRT-era form, Belfort followed it with a post that referred back to his legendary highlight reel knockout over former Pride champion Wanderlei Silva, who is now scheduled to face Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in Bellator this fall.
But that wasn’t the only former high-profile name Belfort hinted at, also calling out several former UFC champions. Check it out:
‘The Phenom’ is perhaps trying to get his name on the rumored Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz fight supposedly promoted by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, yet his gameplan for calling out these onetime rulers of the octagon is somewhat curious.
Wand will face ‘Rampage,’ Liddell and Ortiz will most likely meet one another, and Bisping and Henderson are retired without any indication they’ll come back to the fight game.
So it looks like Befort is already missing the rush of the sport he was such a huge part of for over 20 years. Of course, he could just be reminiscing, but from the looks of him only a short while after he retired, he could at least be seriously considering a comeback.
Does a future in Bellator or even Rizin FF await the Brazilian slugger who may be rethinking that recent retirement?
Continuing the amazing finishes on the preliminary card of tonight’s (Sat., May 19, 2018) UFC Fight Night 129 from the Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile, featherweight Gabriel Benitez scored one of more impressive UFC stoppages of the year.
Facing Humberto Bandenay in a fight that was wild from the opening bell, Benitez dropped his opponent with a huge punch, only to see Bandenay go for an armbar. Benitez fought out of it well, using a monster slam that would have made PRIDE FC-era Rampage Jackson proud.
A few perhaps unnecessary hammerfists followed, and Benitez had another UFC victory in only 39 seconds. Watch it right here:
